This invention relates to metalloporphyrins useful as catalysts for the oxidation of alkanes, and more particularly to metalloporphyrins containing cyano groups on the porphyrin ring.
Cyano-substituted metalloporphyrins are known in the art, H. J. Callot, "Bromation de la m-tetraphenylporphine. Preparation d'alkyl - et de polycyanoporphines (1), Bull. soc. chim. de France 1974, No. 7-8, pages 1492-1496, discloses copper complexes of meso-tetraphenylporphyrins having cyano substituents on one, two, three and four of the pyrrolic rings. R. J. Donohoe, M. Atamian and D. F. Bocian, "Characterization of Singly Reduced Iron (II) Porphyrins", J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1987, 109, 5593-5599, disclose Fe(II)2,7,12-tricyano-5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin and Fe(II)2,7,12,17-tetracyano-5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin.